Rony Seikaly scored 18 of his 26 points over the last eight
minutes and Bo Outlaw pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds as
the shorthanded Orlando Magic defeated the Chicago Bulls for the
first time in eight games, 106-98.

Seikaly also had 10 rebounds and sank 16-of-17 free throws.
Horace Grant and Mark Price chipped in with 17 points apiece as
the Magic outscored the Bulls 35-23 in the fourth quarter and
won for the fifth time in six games. Orlando had not beaten
Chicago since November 14th, 1995.

"I haven't seen him (Seikaly) that dominant in a game before,"
said teammate Gerald Wilkins. "I think a lot had to do with
coach getting him in the huddle and telling him to step it up
and play tougher. That lit a fire under him and he came out and
played as tough as I've ever seen him before. They couldn't
stop him. He made plays and made the shots."

Michael Jordan led Chicago with 25 points, making all 13 of his
free throws but just 6-of-17 shots from the field. Toni Kukoc
added 24 points, Ron Harper 20 and Dennis Rodman 16 rebounds for
the Bulls, who had their season-high five-game winning streak
snapped.

The Magic played without starters Penny Hardaway and Nick
Anderson. Earlier in the day, Hardaway had surgery on his left
knee to remove torn cartilage and will miss eight to 10 weeks
and Anderson was placed on the injured list with a broken left
hand and will be sidelined four to six weeks. Orlando has won
eight of nine games without Hardaway in the lineup this season.

"I wasn't surprised with the intensity that Orlando showed
tonight without Penny. I told my team that they would play this
hard," said Chicago coach Phil Jackson. "They're a tough
defensive team and their second unit did a good job tonight."

Chicago entered the fourth quarter with a 75-71 edge behind 20
points by Kukoc. Darrell Armstrong pulled Orlando into a 79-79
tie with 8:45 remaining with a driving layup.

With 6:57 left, Armstrong started a 7-0 run with a jumper.
Seikaly finished the spurt with a one-handed scoop on a drive
along the baseline, giving the Magic a 90-83 lead with 5:15
remaining.

The Bulls fought back within two points twice, the last time t
92-90 with 2:34 to go on a layup by Jordan.

Seikaly scored six of Orlando's next eight points, with four
free throws and a drive, to make it 100-93 with 48.4 seconds
left. Over the final 7:32, Seikaly connected on 12 consecutive
free throws.

"I wish it was as easy as it looked. I had to work hard," said
Seikaly. "They played great defense and those guys are so
quick, always bothering you. But I knew that I had to get going
for us to have a chance. Things started going my way and I had
to take advantage of it."

"We couldn't put them away. If we had taken care of the
basketball or taken better shots, we could've put them away,"
said Jordan. "They kept fighting back. (Coach Chuck) Daly's
teams always do that."